THE folk across the Causeway will soon be able to enjoy dishes made from bugs, as Singapore plans to approve the use of 16 insects such as crickets and grasshoppers, as well as cocoons, as food.
Hiew Yuen Sheng, co-founder of Altimate Nutrition that produces food products from insects, indicated that approval could be obtained as early as this month.
He said the biggest challenge now lies in developing effective promotion strategies and changing public perceptions about consuming insects, reported China Press.
“Some restaurants and hotels have shown an interest in working with us,” he claimed, adding that the company mainly manufactures cricket protein bars and powder, with Thailand and the United Kingdom being its main markets.
> Several dailies reported that Lisa of the K-pop group Blackpink shot the music video of her new song Rockstar in Bangkok’s Chinatown, Thailand.
Observers said scenes were filmed on the bustling Yaowarat Road, although there was no news of the shoot before the song’s release last Friday.
Reports claimed that Lalisa Manobal, the Thai singer’s real name, had allegedly ensured secrecy by paying 20,000 baht (RM2,560) to each resident and 1,000 baht (RM128) to every pedestrian.
However, locals refuted such speculation, saying that the filming took place during the wee hours, between 3am and 4am, and thus, not many people knew about it.
Thai media was confident that the music video would help turn Yaowarat Road into a tourist attraction and eventually boost the country’s tourism industry.
> Drama series Blossoms Shanghai was the biggest winner at the 29th Shanghai TV Festival Magnolia Awards, winning in five categories including Best TV Series.
Its lead actor Hu Ge also walked away with the Best Actor honour, Sin Chew Daily reported.
The first television series directed by acclaimed filmmaker Wong Kar-wai also won awards for Best Adapted Screenplay (Qin Wen), Best Cinematography (Peter Pau, Chen Cheng and Jin Chenyu) and Best Art Direction (Tu Nan).
Set against the backdrop of 1990s Shanghai’s economic boom, the series tells the story of a young man who rides the wave of economic reform and makes his fortune in the stock market to become a successful entrepreneur.
The award presentation ceremony last Friday also saw Zhou Xun being crowned Best Actress for her role as a lawyer in Imperfect Victim, which also clinched the Best Original Screenplay trophy.
Other notable winners included Xin Shuang for Best Director (The Long Season), Ning Li for Best Supporting Actor (Ripe Town) and Jiang Yan for Best Supporting Actress (Always on the Move).
● The above article is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this ' >'sign, it denotes a separate news item.
